Interview with paranormal/psychic author Cara Carnes

Welcome to Monday! Today I’m talking with paranormal author Cara Carnes about her new book, A Shadow’s Embrace.

During her virtual book tour, Cara will be awarding a lucky winner with a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too.

Bio:

Born in small-town Texas, Cara Carnes was a princess, a pirate, fashion model, actress, rock star and Jon Bon Jovi’s wife all before the age of 13.

In reality, her fascination for enthralling worlds took seed somewhere amidst a somewhat dull day job and a wonderful life filled with family and friends. When she’s not cemented to her chair, Cara loves travelling, photography and reading.

More information about Cara can be found at www.caracarnes.com.

Welcome, Cara. Please tell us about your current release.

Indigo Shadows is a series I’ve contemplated for a while. A Shadow’s Embrace was the first logical book to roll out to introduce the world and the complicated dynamics within it.

Years ago psychics were segregated from society, labeled with levels and imprisoned within testing facilities by a covert government organization run by General Conver. The highest level of psychics, Elites, broke free and formed a covert organization known as the Shadow Elite Operatives, or SEO. Now that they’ve managed to free all psychics from testing facilities and expose the black ops work of Conver’s men to the world, they continue to battle to protect all psychics. The hero of the first book (A Shadow’s Embrace) is an SEO operative named Dagan, who’s able to mentally manipulate people.

But they can only do so much, which is where the Indigo Order comes in. The heroine formed the underground group in order to help feed, clothe and educate the psychic children displaced by General Conver. The homeless kids live in street packs in Chicago and trust no one outside of their tightly knit groups. Devyn, or Indy, as she’s known has managed to infiltrate their groups and gain their trust because she’s like them—a misunderstood psychic struggling to make a life for herself.

What inspired you to write this book?
The Indigo Shadows series takes what I love most about cover operatives style books and combines it with the psychic phenomena I was intrigued by within a world where things aren’t all hearts and flowers. It’s a gritty, grueling world for the psychics who are finally free from General Conver’s testing facilities, yet unable to have a “normal” life because of their abilities. No one wants to contend with their existence or the threat their presence presents, yet they continue to fight to protect humanity and their kind.


Excerpt from A Shadow’s Embrace:

Devyn focused, suckling on the metadata drifting in the atmosphere. Ah, she’d missed the city. The morsels of data streamed into her. Her synapses hummed, sated by the calming presence of her third eye’s power. For the first time in a week, she was whole again now that she was back in the bustling psychic sector of Chicago. Leaving the city and her team a week ago had been a difficult decision, but the right one. Her powers had become more focused without the residual white noise of bustling Chicago’s technological strain vying for her attention.

Now the same technology she’d shunned the past few days would save her. She accessed traffic and bank cameras—anything and everything that allowed eyes-on access to the enemy that was herding her into a proverbial cage. There were too many of them. No exit strategy existed.

Damn.

A strong arm encircled her waist, crushing her against a brick-like torso before she could react. Pain pierced her mind, radiating from her temples. Startled by the psychic intrusion, she writhed in her captor’s embrace and threw up what telepathic walls she could.

The bastard shattered each defensive layer she created. Hot breath fanned across her cheek when he lifted her up off her feet and planted a huge hand over her mouth. Dangling like a doll, she punched the meaty arms holding her captive.

“Enough.” The harsh psychic hammer pounded her into submission. She stilled, unable to maneuver past the thick mental fog he created. “I need you to be quiet if you want to live.”

That voice. Dagan. This was the contact she’d slipped info to at the SEO.

She clamped his wrist and pressed hard, but he maintained his hold. The proximity to one of the most lethal people in existence skittered apprehensive pangs along her spine. She’d chanced returning to Chicago because of him, but how had he known she’d be here?

What exciting story are you working on next?
I’m currently finishing up Redemption’s Forgiveness, which is the second book in The Rending series. It’s a paranormal dystopian world that I’ve been having a lot of fun with.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I think when I got my first contract with Loose Id for A Warrior’s Paradise was the first time I really went “Wow. This is happening. I wrote a book. And it’s going to be sold to strangers for money.”

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Having insomnia helps…LOL. By day I do accounting work, which I think lends itself well to my day. At work I’m focusing on analyzing and number crunching with one side of my brain. By the time I get home, I’m ready to exercise the other sections of my mind. I try and work a couple of hours when I first wake up every morning on something writerly. I think this helps frame my mindset to make the writing the most important thing every day.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m addicted to sticky notes. Big time. I have every size and color possible and use them compulsively while plotting my worlds even though I have mounds of software to do it.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
LOL…it changed daily. I used to want to be a pirate. Then a princess. Then Jon Bon Jovi’s wife (and of course I’d be a way more popular rock star than him). I finally settled on something writerly when I was about 12.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I’d love to hear what you think about A Shadow’s Embrace when you get a chance to check it out. And thank you all for having me here.

Links:

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Thanks, Cara!

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